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Agriculture's origin may be hidden in 'invisible' clues

As scientists attempt to learn about the origins of agriculture in the New World, they’re focusing on what, for the most part, is invisible ? microscopic plant crystals, tiny starch grains and fossilized pollen.
These microscopic plant traces reliably record the earliest use of domesticated plants, says Texas A&M University anthropologist Vaughn Bryant, who is also the director the university’s palynology laboratory.